Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/302202
48 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 27 APRIL 2014 MALTCO Lotteries Ltd. has recent- ly added two major milestones to its portfolio, whereby it was accredited with the highest level of Responsible Gaming Certification (Level 4) by the World Lotteries Association(WLA), and also received the Responsible Gaming Certification from the Eu- ropean Lotteries (EL) Association, the two leading Lottery Associations worldwide with more than 100 Inter- national Members being affiliated to them. "We are very proud to achieve this double certification. This is a great achievement, being the first ever lo- cal company to achieve such pres- tigious certifications, while it is also a distinction for the whole country," commented Maltco's CEO, Ioannis Katakis. "With such an important accredita- tion, Malta through Maltco Lotteries will make a global impact and will gain an excellent reputation on an in- ternational scale." "Responsible gaming is an integral part of the Intralot Group policy and Maltco as a member of the Group is indeed very happy to adhere to re- sponsible gaming practices in order to offer to our players exciting and se- cure gaming experiences", he added. Jean-Luc Monet-Banet, President of the WLA, added, "This is indeed an accomplishment for the company who has been certified with a Level 4 certification, being the highest level that a lottery can attain in this certi- fication". President of EL Friedrich Stickler commented, "Being recognized by the European Lotteries on such an important subject is indeed a huge landmark not only for Maltco Lotter- ies but also for Malta. I congratulate all the Maltco's team for the hard work they have put towards this project". Maltco was audited by an inter- national audit firm, who found the company to be aligned with all the necessary requirements to acquire these certifications. The company reaffirmed that whilst wanting play- ers to entertain themselves, it also encourages them regularly to play in a responsible way. On behalf of Maltco Lotteries Ltd. Dr. Ioannis Katakis thanked both the WLA and the EL for this recognition and committed to further enhance the company's dedication to the re- sponsible gaming principles. The EL official Certification ceremony will be held next June in Lisbon, during the EL Industry Days, whilst the WLA official Certification will be held in Rome, on the framework of the World Lottery Summit, next November. DANIEL COLEIRO KINGSWELL TODAY it is not enough to have a popular website with quality con- tent - you have to engage and inter- act with customers via social media, which will compliment your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) tactics. If we look at some statistics pro- vided by Mashable.com, we realise how popular social media is. For ex- ample if Facebook was a country, it would have the third-highest popu- lation; behind China and India. Another statistic claimed by this website is that more people own a mobile device than a toothbrush! But how can one be successful on social media? Make social sharing easy – today one can easily share posts and news on social media that only requires one click to be shared, but makes people share these posts? Readers will not share the post unless it is helpful. Try to share tips that go beyond what you offer, for example if you are an architect, share your readers' renovation tips with some interesting images. Entertain your readers – make a post that will attract attention and entertain the reader. No one has time to read boring posts; readers are continuously scrolling the social media newsfeeds and if your story is not interesting enough, readers will just keep scrolling down. Get people to interact – ask ques- tions on current affairs. It only takes one good question to get peo- ple to know about your business. Although you may not convert that interaction into a sale immediately, it will definitely help to create 'top of mind awareness' and help your brand get stronger. Provide incentives – get people to share your content and provide an incentive for it. One can design a 'like and share' competition and whoever wins can get a free con- sultation or a free gift. Everyone likes free gifts and it might cost you nothing but some of your time and in exchange, you are getting people to get to know about you and your business. Word of mouth in business is still very strong and it will continue to be so. Social sharing is nothing but word of mouth through technology. It lets people talk about you and about your services, gives you the power to start discussions about anything you want and allows you to benefit from it. From Google Analytics, you can monitor the 'Referrals' sections to help you get an idea of which social media platform is the most success- ful (referral traffic report lets you see which domains referred traffic to your website). For example if you shared an offer from your website on Facebook, Twitter and Google+, you can see which source was the most successful and amend the less successful sources. This will also help you get to know where your customers are and if in the future you decide you want to advertise on social media, you know which platform is likely to be the most successful. Make use of social media adver- tising – Social media advertising helps you target your market, which will in return drive relevant traffic to your website or your Facebook page. Social media is also a great way to prove that your website has cred- ibility. Include videos in your web- site and share them on social media platforms - if it goes viral, it will increase traffic to the website. Ac- cording to Erik Qualman, the truth is that "we do not have a choice on whether we do social media, the choice is how well we do it"… and I think we all agree that he is right. Daniel Coleiro Kingswell is a Search Engine Marketing Specialist at Alert eBusiness (Internet Marketing Divi- sion) – www.alertemarketing.com IT Sharing content online Choose category. Fill in the boxes provided. Write in block letters. Your advert will appear for three weeks in both MaltaToday and MaltaToday Wednesday. This offer does not apply to Real Estate agents. Send your form to: MaltaToday Classifieds, Media Today, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016. Together with a €5 cheque payable to MediaToday Co. Ltd. Name: ________________________________ Address: _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________ Tel: ___________________ email: _________________________________ ANTIQUES BOATS FURNITURE GENERAL LETTING PETS PROPERTY SITUATIONS WANTED SITUATIONS VACANT SERVICE TUITION VEHICLES / PARTS WANTED ALL PRICES INDICATED FOR YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE MUST BE IN EURO ANTIQUES BOATS FURNITURE GENERAL LETTING PETS PROPERTY SITUATIONS WANTED SITUATIONS VACANT SERVICE TUITION VEHICLES / PARTS WANTED €5 2 CLASSIFIEDS FOR 3 WEEKS = Vodafone employees contribute a part of their salary towards the SPCA VODAFONE employees have pre- sented a cheque of €3,000 to the SPCA collected through the em- ployee contribution scheme. They also helped out wth the handiwork at the centre and walking the dogs. They also managed to collect extra funds and bought toys and treats for the animals. "Our commitment to the com- munity in general underlies the core values and principles of Vo- dafone Malta and all our team members," said Roberta Pace from Vodafone Malta. "Through our an- nual Employee Charity Contribu- tion scheme our employees help out with different issues in our society and this time we decided to help the SPCA with the refurbishment of the kennels and the centre. "This NGO is one of the most loved animal organisations on our islands and our donation shows the need for continuous support for the exceptional work carried out throughout the year." The SPCA is one of the NGOs to whom Vodafone are donating money from the Employee Char- ity Scheme funds for this year and this is just a part of the total sum collected from employees through a monthly donation directly from their salary. The SPCA is a non-profit NGO with the main aim of giving animals the best care possible and with its main income coming mainly from fundraising activities, the Sponsor a Dog Cat Membership Scheme, Paws for a Cause charity shop and donations from organisations and the public. The home's daily running expens- es largely consist of food, medicine, water and electricity, wages and maintenance. Since the home is over 100 years old, it needs constant attention and repairs to be main- tained at an acceptable level. The SPCA's next project is that of tiling the kennels. "Thanks to the generous donation of Vodafone we can now say that we can move ahead with this floor and wall tiling project," said Miriam Casha from SPCA. "Our dogs will be definitely benefiting from this upgrade." Maltco Lotteries Ltd. receives two certifications for responsible gaming